The loss of right guard Kirby Fabien is having a ripple effect throughout the team. Lions centre Matt Norman (above) took news of his teammate’s knee injury harder than anybody else on the team. ‘It’s like losing a brother,’ Norman said.Jenelle Schneider Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Rookie offensive lineman Kirby Fabien, whose 2013 CFL season was off to such a promising start, saw that campaign end in Toronto Tuesday night against the host Argos, as he suffered a severe knee injury that will require surgery.Arlen Redekop
/ PNG

Related

METRO VANCOUVER — One needs to have taken Anatomy 101 to understand the extent of knee damage suffered by B.C. Lions right guard Kirby Fabien on Tuesday. The repair and reattachment of the PCL (posterior collateral ligament), the LCL (lateral collateral ligament), lateral and medial cartilage and lateral hamstring tendon were all involved.

That list is longer than Fabien’s pro career, which was brought to a devastating halt in the first quarter of a 38-12 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. After completing just four games of his rookie season, the rest of the 2013 CFL campaign is a writeoff for the 22-year-old Fabien, who had surgery Friday at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody.

The good news is that Fabien’s career will continue, and the hope is that he’ll be ready for the start of training camp in 2014.

Even though Fabien’s injury involved a number of structures, the team’s medical therapist, Bill Reichelt, doesn’t place it in the same category of severity as that suffered two years ago by defensive back Stanley Franks. Vascular surgery was needed to save the leg of Franks, who gruesomely dislocated his left knee in a game against the Calgary Stampeders, on July 8, 2011, at Empire Field.

Fabien’s knee injury is far from routine — it’s a reconstruction. But the injury didn’t involve artery damage, unlike Franks, so his prospects for recovering his mobility and playing again are encouraging.

So, too, were the words of centre Matt Norman, who took Fabien’s injury harder than anybody on the team.

Fabien and Norman were drafted in the same year (2012), room together on the road, share living accommodations in Burnaby and played side by side on the football field until Fabien went down.

Norman’s overriding emotion on Tuesday evening was one of anger. He was embittered to the point that reporters gave him a wide berth in the locker-room, knowing they weren’t going to get much out of him.

“I really didn’t know what happened at first,” Norman explained Friday. “I saw him lying on the ground. I thought maybe he had a concussion or something. It’s like losing a brother.

“The offensive line is a really tight unit. When one of your buddies goes down, it takes a part of you with them. It hurt. It hurt me to see him go down, knowing he was doing so well.

“But now we move on. It’s just another obstacle that he and we have to overcome.”

It doesn’t matter if your team has the biggest name quarterback. With a weak O-line, he’s going to look like a rookie.

Nobody knows that better than Travis Lulay, who realizes that the loss of Fabien has a ripple effect throughout the team and compromises its depth.

“You try to block it out and focus on the task at-hand,” Lulay explained. “But it’s human nature to go, ‘Man.’ It’s hard to see.

“The game itself is really emotional. You have to find a way, as a player, to control that. Honestly, it’s hard. You see it, and you just want to go off to the sideline and say a prayer for him.

“He was a rookie, and he was getting better from game to game. He was on a steady incline of improvement. We’re only five weeks into the season, and he’d made big strides.”

Veteran guard Dean Valli, who dealt with knee issues of his own last season, will take over Fabien’s spot and hope that he won’t repeat the episodes of 2012.

Valli wears a brace on his surgically repaired knee and is vulnerable to re-injury on every snap.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Saskatoon loves its Christmas lights. The Enchanted Forest draws thousands of vehicles each week. The late Bob Hinitt worked for months building his light display, which drew thousands of cars each year to Wiggins Avenue. And Scott Lambie on Clinkskill Drive has continued the tradition with more than 70,000 dancing lights (up from 50,000 last […]

When it comes to gift giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. But many are wondering if Mayor Drew Dilkens was thinking at all when he gave Olympic superstar Michael Phelps — whose battles with booze are well known — a big bottle of Canadian Club whisky.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.